


The Question of the Blood-Stained Bat

by JoAsakura



Category: X-Factor (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-20
Updated: 2010-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 21:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/141686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoAsakura/pseuds/JoAsakura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A RicStar prompt fulfillment for Rukia!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Julio Montoya, is pretty self-explanatory, a mashup of Rictor and Renee Montoya.
> 
> Gav Kane is a little bit Shatterstar, little bit Batwoman and leetle bit Azrael. His twin, Ben- is the unholy offspring of Shatterstar, Flamebird and Nightwing.
> 
> Rictor and Shatterstar are (c) Marvel Entertainment. Batman, Oracle, Gotham City, etc. are (c) DC Entertainment. The story, quite sadly, is mine.
> 
> also, I think the "kudos" button is badly placed. I just inadvertently gave myself one. Dumbass. >.>;;;;

1

Gotham City PD detective Julio Montoya hadn’t realized the time until he heard the soothing white noise of the cleaning crew’s vacuum cleaners.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the time stamp in the corner of the computer screen. “11 pm?” he said out loud, noticing then that even his partner, Bullock, had abandoned him. “Fucker.” Julio muttered, draining the bitter dregs left in his coffee cup.

There was no doubt Intergang was on the move, all the evidence was pointing to that. They had recently been mixed up some large-scale arms dealing with some other, new-to-Gotham group, possibly Russians, from the chatter Julio had been hearing.

Several possible deals had been busted up, discovered by the GCPD, by what seemed to be the handiwork of the Batman or one of his associates. But it hadn't deterred the possible-Russian-arms-dealers.

And he had a bad feeling about a particular string of warehouses they seemed to be collecting around.

Mainly because a cursory records search hours ago had revealed a bit of information Julio would’ve been happier without.

The buildings were owned by the wealthy Kane family.

The wealthy Kane family meant Gav Kane and a year’s worth of tempestuous, clandestine relationship that had gone up in a neutron blast of a breakup less than a month earlier.

He really wished he hadn’t stopped smoking.

~~

Gav Kane had been a seemingly impossible catch for a closeted latino cop. Former Special Forces who’d been outed by DADT, Gav had settled, perhaps in some sort of social vengeance, into the kind of shameless lifestyle that made Bruce Wayne look like a cave-dwelling ascetic.

They had met on a robbery case (after all, when someone broke into a place like the Kane’s penthouse, the commissioner wanted answers yesterday), and Julio had fallen hard for the gorgeous redhead. But while Gav was quite comfortable with being out about his sexuality, Julio was decidedly not.

His parents were old school, and as he couldn’t bear the thought of causing either one of their early demises, he sat through their matchmaking attempts with a threadbare smile, and reminisced in the back of his mind about some particularly athletic lovemaking sessions with Gav in the back of one of the family Jaguars.

In the end, though, their worlds were too different for Julio to handle. He was busily trying to find a way to end things between them with a modicum of dignity when the YouTube sex tape scandal involving Gav and some recently drafted midfielder for Manchester United with too many consonants in his name broke after a particularly raucous birthday party in London that the detective had declined to attend.

Julio found it extremely easy to break it off then.

~~

And so now, a month later, grey slushy snow piling up on the sidewalk outside of the 57th Precinct, Julio Montoya found himself looking at his mobile phone, running his thumb over the screen where Gav’s name looked back at him accusingly.

“Goddamnit.”


	2. Chapter 2

2

He hadn’t expected Gav to pick up. He had less expected Gav to sound as if he was sleeping at 11:30 pm. There had to be gallery opening to be getting bombed at or Romanian footballers to be banging at this time of night.

But there it was, hoarse and sleepy. Sexy enough to make Julio momentarily forget why he called. “Hullo?”

“Gav?”

“Julio?” The sleepy kitten sound cleared immediately. “What do you want?”

“I didn’t wake you up did I?” Julio stammered, trying to regain the plot.

“Of course not. What. Do. You. Want?”

“I need…” (I need to see you again. I need to bury my face in your hair and smell that scent of yours that has nothing to do with cologne and everything to do with your skin. I need…) “your help with a case.”

~~

The diner was precisely the sort of place you did not see people like Gav Kane. (Gaveedra Jacob Kane, Julio reminded himself as he waited, watching the headlights of the odd midnight cab trundling through the mounting slush. Named after some almost-forgotten god of war from his mother’s home country of Kaznia. It had always made Gav self-conscious, especially when his twin had gotten away with 'Benjamin'.)

So, when the door chimed and Julio looked up, he was surprised at how well the big redhead fit himself in, snow-stained hoodie pulled up, broad shoulders slumped down. He glanced at Julio, then slid into the cracked vinyl booth across from him, one tendril of scarlet hair peeking out from the thick grey fabric.

“Don’t think this is going to be a regular sort of thing, Detective.” He said, his mother’s accent peeking out in annoyance.

“I wouldn’t have called you if I could have checked this out through normal means… without arousing any suspicion.”

Gav snorted and slid a flash drive across the table. “The short form is, yes, my father owns that warehouse. It had been leased to a pharmaceutical company until a few months ago. On the books, it’s empty. But there have been regular utility payments. I think his accountant might be involved.”

Julio reached for the drive and their fingers met, lingering for an awkward moment. “Thank you.”

“If there’s something illegal going on there, my father had nothing to do with it, Julio. You know he’s a good man.”

“I know, Gav. Promise me you won’t go poking around any further than this. It was a big risk, me asking you to do this.”

Gav drew his hand back. “I didn’t think you cared.”

Julio scowled. “Well, I wasn’t the one banging Vlad the Impaler on video.” He said and immediately regretted it.

“At least he knew what to do with a stake.” Gav sniped back, making a rude gesture before pulling away and out of the booth. “Good luck.”

Julio wished right then that the earth would swallow him up.

But he had work to do.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Vic had mentioned, once – before the cancer had eaten away his brain and long before Julio had even considered donning the mask – that pseudoderm smelled like anchovies and sweatsocks. Part of that was the sealant that Julio patted on his face, and part was the substance itself.

But damn, if every superhero outing wasn’t like eating cheap pizza in a locker room.

Together they’d tweaked the mask- added air filtration capabilities, enhanced visual display, that sort of thing- but they’d never been able to do anything about the smell.

It was 1 am, and the faceless vigilante known only as The Question was perched on a rooftop across from the warehouse, freezing his cojones off.

He’d followed Vic’s “uniform” (a trenchoat, suit, tie, gloves and smart fedora all turned virulent shades of International Klein Blue from the adhesive mist. The same mist darkened Julio’s brown hair to an awful rusty black) but even the long underwear underneath was little added respite from a Gotham City winter. But what he *strongly* suspected were some very bad men were filtering into the warehouse and a rousing round of punching people in the face were just the ticket to warming a guy up.

He snapped a few more photos of faces and license plates, then fit his camera into an inner pocket. It was time to bust some heads.

~~  
He hadn’t expected the freaky satan-worship vibe.

The Kalashnikovs and boxes of rocket launchers, yes. The goat masks and goblets of blood? Yeah, not so much.

Still, this was Gotham. He wasn’t exactly surprised.

There were a lot of them, though, and they were preternaturally tough. The Question had tangled with one or two metas in his time, and while he didn’t think these guys were superhuman, they were definitely stronger than your average arms dealing, devil-worshipping, goat wearing freakshow.

Or so he thought.

And even as he caved in the nose of the nearest cultist, after disarming him of a particularly wicked looking knife, Julio realized he was badly outnumbered. Wired on adrenaline, time seemed to slow down. He heard the click of a trigger somewhere behind him and knew he wouldn’t be able to turn in time and he was dead and he was…

..Shoved to the ground hard as his vision was filled with black and red, the sound like a bat’s hard-beating wing cutting through the sound of gunfire.

(Oh, crap, Batman?) Julio thought as he rolled to his feet, smashing a cultist in the kneecaps as he did. (I so do not need a lecture from the Bat tonight.)

But it wasn’t the Bat.

It was *a* Bat, he figured, what with the iconic bat symbol emblazoned across a broad chest, the sharp edged cape flaring outwards around them. The bullet tinked on the concrete floor, deformed from the impact against whatever that cape was lined with, and the Bat cracked his knuckles.

It was no Bat that Julio had ever seen- either as The Question or at the Day Job. All blood red and black, cowl like a hood draping softly around his face. He was big, but graceful and he turned slightly to Julio as what appeared to be a long blade flicked out of one armoured red gauntlet. “You should be a little more careful, Question.” He growled. “You don’t look very bulletproof.”

The growl sent a delicious shiver straight down into Julio’s groin and he cursed his rebellious genitals. Now was not the time to be getting a hard-on. But any snarky retort he might have had to cover that up was cut off by someone shouting to “KILL THEM!”

~~  
The blade turned out to be some sort of tazer, and Julio watched the Bat-person bring down a few with it before he had to turn his attention to what seemed to be the leader of the cult, trying to hightail it out of the warehouse with a book clutched under his arm.

“goddamnit.” Julio breathed, vaulting over a box of guns. “I hate it when I have to chase them.” Somewhere from behind, he heard some more gunfire and shook his head. Bat-dude could handle it.

The head goat-mask looked familiar after Julio got done subding him. After a moment he realized- the Kane’s accountant. Julio gave him one very gratiutious punch in the face just for good measure and zipcuffed him like the others.

And there on the ground, was the ratty book the man had been clutching. He’d have to read it later, he figured.

There was an angry Bat standing behind him.

“What do you have there?” the Bat loomed.

“More evidence.” Julio answered, squaring his shoulders and glaring at the bigger man. The cape was gashed in one part, he noticed, but the blood running down the man’s arm wasn’t evident until a droplet splattered on the floor. “looks like maybe *you* should be more careful, bat-guy.”

The bat took a step forward to reach for the book. “Ah-ah-ah.” Julio shook his head, taking a step back as he shoved the book in a coat pocket. “Probably should get that looked at.” There was a threat couched in the concern.

“Hmph. I’ve been keeping tabs on this place. You should stay out of other people’s business.” The bat turned sharply on his heel, cape snapping around him. “And the name is Azrael. You should remember it. The angel of death. Remember, stay out of my way.”

But Julio wasn’t listening. Because in the moment he turned, there was one tendril of scarlet hair, peeking out from the cowl.

And then Azrael was gone in the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Julio sat in his Mustang, staring at the long, snowy drive that lead up to the Kane mansion.

He’d been there for half an hour, occasionally smacking the steering wheel in irritation.

It was 10 am, and he hadn’t been to bed yet, only a quick shower to wash the funk of the Question’s gear off his skin. The rest of the time had been spent poring over the garishly decorated “Crime Bible” he had taken off the cultists and checking to make sure the GCPD had come and picked up the goat-headed idiots.

The “Crime Bible” left a sour taste in his mouth. There was a great deal of philosophical nonsense and gobbledegook happening there, but one thing had stuck out. The sacrifice of the “Bloodstained Son of Kane”.

Julio smacked the steering wheel again, then gunned the engine.

~~  
 "My father’s already downtown, talking to your captain about our accountant, detective.” Gav said coldly, as he poured a cup of coffee. “There was no need for you to come all this way. Unless you missed seeing me, that is?” G av looked like he’d come in from a jog, cheeks pink from the cold and wearing a sweatshirt not unlike the one he’d worn to the diner. His long red hair clung to the sides of his face in faintly sweaty curls, and Julio acutely remembered what it was like to run his fingers through them.

Several retorts built and died in Julio’s throat, before he settled himself, looking at the redhead. “There’s information that this group may be targeting you. The son of Kane.” He said, throat tight.

“Oh, just me? I do have a brother, you know.” Gav said without looking at him.

“He’s not bloodstained like you are.” Julio said quietly, fingers splayed on the marble kitchen island. “Gav…” He leaned forward then slapped the other man sharply on the arm.

There was a yelp of pain as the coffee mug fell, shattering on the floor, and Gav hissed at him. “What the fuck was that for?”

“You had a spider on you.” Julio leaned back, and the two glared at each other for a long moment. “I just want you to stay out of trouble, Gav.”

“You should talk, Detective.” Gav answered, then glanced over his shoulder. “Benji, can you show Detective Montoya out? I have to clean this up before Walter comes in here and gives me grief for making my own coffee.”

Julio turned to see Gav’s younger twin, Benjamin, standing in the kitchen doorway, arms folded and green eyes curious. “C’mon, Julio. Let’s go before he starts bitching some more and I have to help clean up his mess.”

~~~

“You’re still not over him, are you?” Ben teased as he led Julio through the massive foyer to the door.

“I could be coming to see you, you know.” Julio grumped at him.

“You’re not my type, Detective Montoya.” Ben grinned. “Now, if you can hook me up with the Huntress? SHE is my type.” He made a little "rowr" sound for added emphasis.

“Keep an eye on your brother, ok?” Julio pleaded.

“I always do.” Ben said, and shut the door firmly behind him.

Ben waited until he was sure Julio was pulling out of the driveway before he turned to his twin. “Let me take a look at your arm, idiot. You stink at patching yourself up.”

Gav pulled his shirt off to allow his brother access to the ugly gash on his arm. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No problem. What was that all about, then?” Ben dragged him back into the kitchen.

“He’s angry that he can’t chew me out without revealing his own secret identity.” Gav winced as he brother cleaned the wound. “I knew it was him the second I saw him.”

“You’re both pathetic. You need backup tonight?” Ben hummed as he stitched up the wound.

“No, you can keep ‘flamebird’ in the closet. Although, I’m supposed to be meeting some people for drinks at a very inconvenient time tonight.” Gav hissed. “Ow. you’re deliberately being rough.”

“Hey, I don’t mind trashing your reputation instead of mine.” Ben laughed. “Although Andrej keeps calling me and he’s SO not my type. But… you don’t need to protect me, too, Gav. You probably don’t even need to protect Julio.”

“Trust me, little brother. It’s better this way.” Gav leaned in towards his brother, their foreheads touching. “Thanks.”


	5. Chapter 5

5

One didn't wear the Question's faceless face without picking up a few of the more paranoid aspects of its original owner, Julio had found.

To wit: in one of the myriad inner pockets of his overcoat- a drab olive-grey in normal conditions- was what amounted to a miniature faraday cage. Well away from any location that might be associated with Detective Julio Montoya, he stepped into the role of the Question. Once he felt the mask was secure and his clothes were their eyegouging shade of blue, he opened the packet and slid out a mobile phone.

It barely rang once, before a woman's electronically modified voice answered. "You never call, you never write." She chided.

"I don't like people checking up on me, Oracle." He said pleasantly. "Anyways, I have a puzzle you may be interested in."

"We'll see." She said, and listened as Julio explained the Crime Bible.

"I think the same things are being listed simultaneously in english on one page and ... well, it looks almost cyrillic, but I can't be sure, on the facing page."

"This is the first I've heard of something like this." Oracle mused. "Snap a pic with the phone's camera and send it my way. I'll look into it."

"You're so good to me." Julio said as he spread open the page with the disturbing comment about the son of Kane.

"Sure you're not interested in doing some work for me?"

"Maybe another time, Oracle. I have things here that need.. answers. You know how to leave a message for me if you find anything."

"Will do, faceless avenger." She teased, and then she was gone.

~~

It took far less time than Julio anticipated, but within the hour, his RSS feed searchbot had a hit for a very specific string of words, and he was back to the encrypted mobile phone.

"That was fast, even for you." He said, logging in to the Mongolian-based anonymizer site he used to log into the other one he actually checked his mail as the Question from. He used a hacked wi-fi connection at Wayne Industries down the street. He had *suspicions* about Bruce Wayne, so this amused Julio on a very deep and perverse level.

"Well, I have very good sources." Oracle sounded as pleased as someone could through electronic voice masking. "You were almost in that this bible was written in cyrillic. It's an older slavonic variant. but it's not Russian. It's Kaznian. It belongs to a group called the Dascha Nochut - the "House of Shadows"..."

Julio only half listened as Oracle rambled on about Kaznian doomsday cults and their brisk arms trade in central asia. It was too coincidental. Azrael... Gav... was busting up Intergang deals with Kaznian arms merchants. The mention of the "Son of Kane" couldn't possibly have been accidental.

His attention snapped back when Oracle got to a name. "One of their major players in the motherland is a murdering son of a bitch named Antonin Vashtek. And someone matching his description flew into Gotham International Airport about a month ago, using a clean passport.”

"Thanks, Oracle. I can take it from here." Julio said abruptly, scrolling through the encrypted data on the Dascha Nochut that Oracle had posted for him. He didn't give her a chance to reply, snapping the phone off.

~~

A memory, naked bodies in a four-poster bed nestled in a ridiculously quaint Martha's Vinyard B&B.

"Gaveedra? *Really?*" Julio had pulled back a bit, brushing strands of red gold away from Gav's face to see the irritated expression that was creeping across his lover's face.

"My mother was pregnant with me and Benji when she met Dad. He was in Kaznia on a diplomatic mission with the state department. She told us when we were little that she prayed all night to Jesus, and the saints, and then to Gaveedra and Adrischka, the gods of war and love that she could escape with Dad."

That night, rebel forces attacked the capital city, and Dad was airlifted out. He had been hiding Mom from her father- who, by all accounts, was a real bastard- in his hotel room, and so he snuck her out in the chaos." Gav shook his head, nestling down in the crook of Julio's arm. "When we were born, she promised the first would be named for the god that brought the war that shielded her and the second would be named for the god that brought the love that saved her. Dad stepped in and insisted we get more American names too. I was out five minutes before Benji,so I got stuck with the derpy Kaznian name first."

"Your mom, she died when you were little, right?" Julio nuzzled his hair. "Was she named after a god, too?"

"No. Ekaterina Sofia Vashtek Kane." He said it with all the lilting accents in place. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

~~

"Goddamnit." Julio said softly. He had to go talk to Gav.


	6. Chapter 6

6

The carriage house on the Kane estate hadn't been used in a few generations for anything more than storage of christmas ornaments and horse tack.

Which is why it was the perfect location for an underground lair.

Deep below the timeworn building, Gav leafed through a book disturbingly similar to the one that Julio had been discussing with Oracle. "Almanac should be right. I think they're going to do another ritual and deal tonight."

"At least they're consistent." Ben said, twirling a retractable staff through his fingers. "You don't have to do this alone, Gav. You don't have to prove anything."

"I do, to myself, Benji." The older twin sighed, snapping the book shut. The cover had once been white with delicate gold stamping. A book fit for a young girl more than a crime lord. "You know that."

"Well, you call me, if you need backup." Ben started, just as the "Imperial March" started to chirp from Gav's phone. "Uh-oh. Dad."

Gav groaned, "Hi Dad. Wha.. no.. Yes, but.. Can't Ben.. No, I know I've had more experience with the police than Ben has but I don't think sleeping with.. I.. Yes, Dad. I'll be there in a little bit." He glared at the phone as he ended the call.

"Goddamnit." Gav raked his hands back through his hair. "He's having some sort of.. disagreement with the police commissioner about the warehouse. He wants me to back him up."

"Dude, you have to go. Dad can actually tell us apart, you know." Ben quirked an eyebrow a him. "Seriously, GO. Then go out and have a few drinks or see a movie or something. When was the last time you went out that didn't have something to do with Dark Vengeance?"

Gav stared at him, and Ben continued. "Martha's Vineyard. That's when. You even ditched me at our birthday party in London to go manhunt some cultist and I had to keep that idiot footballer busy for you."

"But the bust..."

"GAV. Do not underestimate the Air Force. HOOAH." Ben held up his hand and his twin bumped fists with him.

"Hooah. You. Call *me* if you run into any trouble, ok?"

"You know it, big brother."

~~

It had been, upon reflection, too easy.

Flamebird hauled another gunrunner over his shoulder and into the dumpster outside the abandoned building before sending an anonymous message to the police, then ziplined it to a nearby roof.

There had been a shipment of guns, alright, but nothing you couldn't buy off of crime alley on a boring saturday night. There wasn't even much in the way of the usual Dascha Nochut jibber-jabber.

He watched as the flash of blue and red lights coloured the dark alleyways nearby and scowled behind the dark red cowl.

Something was wrong.

Flamebird keyed his gauntlet (a dull gold to his brother's blood red) "Azrael." He said, watching the small holographic display come up.

SUITCOMM: OFFLINE  
MOBILE: DIALING

"This is Gav, leave a message" his brother's voice filtered through the speakers in the Flamebird mask.

"I hope you're not picking up because you're actually getting laid, but you need to call me ASAP." He stared at the display again, then shook his head. "Locate Azrael Mobile."

~~

A less than pristine alleyway, just blocks from GCPD's 57th precinct, was not where Flamebird was expecting to find his brother.

But his smartphone lay, half smashed, the display sputtering fitfully, in a pile of garbage. "Goddamnit." he hissed, before a clatter and groan behind him made him wheel around, black and gold cape snapping like sharp wings.

"JULIO?"


	7. Chapter 7

7

As both a cop and a cape, Julio Montoya had been punched in the face, kneed in the nuts and had pretty much every conceivably survivable thing done to him. Plus one or two that were more inconceivably survivable.

He never felt quite as bad as he did, waking up, half-shoved in that dumpster. He felt like butterflies were taking a psychedelic shit in his forebrain while tiny men hit him with socks filled with bars of soap.

Julio hoped to never repeat this experience.

He blinked twice, trying to focus on the black and red figure stalking towards him.

"G... Azra..l.. hey.." He said muzzily, before the figure hauled him out of the dumpster by his shirtfront.

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY BROTHER, MONTOYA!?" The man roared in Julio's face.

That was definitely not Gav screaming at him.

~~

Whatever he'd been gassed with, made Julio's head feel like a Pink Floyd song gone wrong.

That is, until Flamebird uncorked something and sprayed it in his face.

Clarity snapped into place moments later. "SWEET ZOMBIE FUCKING JESUS, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" Julio gasped. It smelled like pure, ice-cold evil.

"Shocks the brain out of most narcotic effects." Ben said, almost pleasantly. "Little bit of bleeding edge stuff we've borrowed from dear old Uncle Sam." He patted Julio on the cheek. "You with me now?" The pleasantry was a brittle veneer. Julio could almost taste the impatience in Ben's voice underneath.

"I called him." Julio stood up, futilely trying to wipe the garbage off his jacket. "Your grandfather, Antonin Vashtek..."

"..is a murdering religious fanatic and he's trying to expand his cult to Gotham and bring about the end of the world. yeah, we're on it." Ben folded his arms, black cloak stirring around him. "Hello, costumes? Crimefighting?"

"You knew about this." Julio felt a peculiar anger stir up. "The crime bible? The sacrifice of the bloodstained son of Kane?"

"The sacrifice of the what, now?" Ben cocked his head and Julio reached into his jacket for the ratty little book.

"They beat me up and gassed me and left me here because they didn't think I was anything but a nosy cop." He waved the book at Ben. "I was bringing this to show Gav and find out what the hell is going on."

"We have a copy too." Ben said. "It was our mother's." He thumbed through the book Julio handed him.

"Your... mother's?" He gawped at the bigger man.

"You don't live life as the daughter of the evil pope of a crackpot doomsday cult without picking up some religious detritus." Ben said, then shook his head. "This is different."

"What?"

"This is different. This is edited from the older copy we have. We've been using it to predict Dascha Nochut deals and rituals, because they're crazy about making sure things are done to certain celestial timetables. *THIS* has been changed, there's new things." Ben closed the book with a snap. "He's going to sacrifice Gav at dawn if these verses are right."

"Ben..."

"He was out here unarmed because *I* told him to take a night off, Montoya. We have, like two hours to find him." Ben's voice broke, and he flipped the book open again, tracing a finger along the curling slavic letters. "A mighty rampart in the woods."

"Let me get my game face on. We'll bring him back." Julio said softly, and stalked back to his car.


	8. Chapter 8

8

The first thing Gav was clearly aware of was how cold he was. He used that discomfort to force his brain back into awareness.

He was cold. He was tied up. And most appallingly, he was naked. Cold stone rasped against his back and his buttocks, and rope bit into his arms and legs. Not just tied up, then. Splayed out like a sacrifice.

He tested the ropes with an immediate frown. Too tight to gain any purchase to free himself. And his jacket, with its concealed weapons was across the room. It might as well have been on Mars. Or with Julio, wherever he might be.

"I suppose you wonder why I bring you here." The voice was thick with a Kaznian accent, and Gav craned his neck to see the speaker. He was a big man, built like an older version of Gav and his brother. But his face looked as if he had been hit repeatedly with a tire iron in his youth, features flat and uneven. "You know who I am, boy?" He wore a heavy black peacoat and dark slacks that blended into the dark stone around them.

"Hullo, Grandpa." Gav said with the best shrug he could manage. "You look like shit."

He had expected the immediate cuff across the face, but it still hurt when his head bounced against the stone. "You disgust me." The older man spat. "Do you know that in Kaznia, it was customary to kill the younger of twins? Twins the most bad luck possible. If we had done that tradition with you, we would have killed the better twin. Sad."

"What can I say?" Gav felt the blood trickle down from the corner of his mouth. "I guess it's lucky that mom got us out of Kaznia before we were born."

"My useless daughter, running away. She should have born girls. Better sacrifice for Nochut. But I have watched you for years. You throw away your military career, lie with men like a shameful woman. You'll do. Then we will make your brother into a proper man."

Antonin touched one of the big men attending him on the shoulder. "Watch him while we prepare." He said, sparing one last disdainful glance for Gav. "Good bye, grandson."

~~

Gav recognised the look that the guard was giving him. The man was stupid, cruel and well-used to abusing what little power he possessed over others.

What Gav said, instead was. "The way you're looking at me. Can I help you out?" He quirked a little smile, eyes heavy.

"I knew your mother, the little whore. You look like her." The man said thickly. "Who knows who your father even was, she sleep with so many men." He ran the barrel of his gun down Gav's belly.

Gav let the shudder show, but gave it a spin. “ ” He purred in Kaznian. "I'm gonna die anyways, so why don't we have some fun?"

The gun barrel stopped at Gav's navel, then the man barked a harsh laugh. "you a little whore too, then?" He glanced back over his shoulder. "Yes.. I think we can have some fun before you die. Ladies love what I can do."

He set the gun aside and undid the ropes at Gav's ankles. "We leave your arms tied, yeah? I won't need your hands for what I'm gonna do."

Gav's smile turned cold. "Funny that. Neither will I." He brought his legs up quickly, feet on either side of the man's head. There was a sharp snap and the guard fell hard against the stone table before slumping to the floor. "Asshole."

~~

He was glad that Ben wasn’t there to see him extricate himself from the ropes. Or Julio, for that matter. The detective had been well-impressed by Gav’s flexibility on numerous occasions, but a lascivious comment would only break his concentration.

Freed, Gav rolled to his feet, rubbing his wrists. He pulled on his jeans and boots – they were less protection than his Azrael suit, but definitely better than going around nude- and was reaching for his jacket when there was a slow clap at the doorway.

“I think to myself, what will Gaveedra do, I leave him alone with one guard?” Antonin said, leaning against the doorway. “Under ten minutes, he’s dead and you’re already leaving.” A grin broke across the big man’s ugly face. “This, I did not expect.”

“Oh, I’m full of surprises, Grandpa.” Gav said with a harsh smile. He slid the metal baton from one of his jacket’s inner pockets and snorted. “shall we?”


	9. Chapter 9

9

Out of something like desperation, Julio had slid Oracle’s phone out and begged her help. There were a few possibilities as to the cryptic location suggested in the verse, but they were scattered far across the City- and two hours was barely enough time to check them all.

“I will even take one of the jobs you want me to, Oracle. Please.” He whispered through the pseudoderm mask.

And now, he was speeding towards Gotham’s massive Robinson Park and the revolutionary war –era lookout tower within. “The tower and visitor’s center there have been closed for a few years- no budget for the renovations and repairs.” Oracle said. “It’s your best bet. Let me know if you need assistance.”

“No, no- we’ve got this.” Julio slid a look over to the hooded man looming in his passenger seat. “I’ll let you know.”

He clicked off the phone and tossed it to Ben as he shifted gears. The mustang’s plates flipped over and the paint enjoyed a similar colour shift to his “uniform”, but he still had to pay attention as he weaved through the city streets. The dingy yellow sodium glare of streetlights illuminated the crooks and junkies, as well as the city’s earliest risers, on their way to their jobs.

He couldn’t spare the time to run any of them over.

But the silence in the car was unnerving him.

“So.” He said, thankful the mask concealed his discomfort, and annoyed that Ben’s mask effectively hid whatever he was thinking. “I remember Gav telling me you were in the military, as well.”

“Air Force. I was a pilot.” Ben said, fiddling with something on his gauntlet.

“Was?”

“When Gav was discharged due to DADT, I resigned my commission. They let me go, rather than let me move on to my next phase, which would have been getting myself discharged under the same rules as well, in the most embarrassing way for my CO as possible.” He said absently. “They don’t want one of us? They don’t get either of us. Plain and simple.”

He had always taken Ben to be the more rational of the two of them. Julio was now seeing that impression might be mistaken. “Twins. You do everything together.”

“Well, famously, there’s one thing we haven’t done together.”

“oh?”

Ben looked at him for an uncomfortably long time. “Sh’yeah.”

Julio got the impression that ben was looking him up and down and felt his face heat up. “You always seemed like the nice one.”

Ben didn’t laugh though. “Drive faster.”

 

~~

The park's historic site was gated off, and what looked to be a number of city municipal trucks were parked inside. But the men in dark clothes with the big guns, were definitely not Gotham Parks and Recreation.

Julio lowered his night vision glasses. "There's at least five by the entrance."

"Another five around back." Flamebird growled next to him. "Give me five minutes, then you can go in the front."

"What, now?"

"You should rescue Gav. He'd like that." Ben stood up and smushed down Julio's fedora as he stood. He looked at the barbed-wire fence for a moment, then slid a metal tube out of his gauntlet. "Like I said. Five minutes."

Julio was pretty sure Flamebird *winked* at him, then ran forward, the tube extending outwards into a staff to vault over the fence.

Julio jogged back to the car, pulling the bolt cutters out of the truck, mentally counting down until he heard the sounds of a beatdown in progress. (Twins) he thought, restraining the urge to charge in. (Ben said five minutes)

There was a huge poof, white smoke filling the courtyard. That would be his cue, and he cut through the lock with a grunt, thankful for the filters he and Vic had worked into the mask. He wasn't sure what the smoke was, but given the way the guards were doubling over and puking dramatically, it probably wasn't air freshener.

Inside, wooden crates filled the cavernous lower floor. Enough arms and munitions to blow up Gotham Knights Arena at the very least. Julio let out a low whistle.

You had to give them credit for being able to move this much stuff, right under the shadow of the Bat that hung over the city. He scrambled past them and looked up the spiralling stairs. "Goddamnit. I hate running up stairs."

~~

Julio Montoya was in excellent shape. His lifestyle demanded it.

That said, the tower was well over a hundred feet tall, and that was a hell of a lot of stairs. Gotham was lousy with pre-war, turn of the century monstrosities with inadequate lift capacity.

So Julio had worked out a system.

The trick was not going too fast in the beginning, a quick and easy pace so he wouldn't be exhausted by the time he got to the top.

An exhausted hero was a hero asking for a smackdown.

But the sharp retort of gunfire drifting down the huge open chamber gave him a surge of adrenaline he didn't think possible.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Antonin Vashtek was in ridiculously good shape for a man in his 60s, Gav thought sourly as he dodged a swing and twisted to hit the old guy in the kidneys with his baton. Worse, whatever they shot him up with in the alleyway was still circulating in his system, despite Gav's best efforts to shake it off. It was slowing him down, numbness lingering in his limbs that had nothing to do with the awkward position he'd been tied in.

"Nochut gives me strength, grandson!" He said, but he still stumbled back a step. "It will allow me to face even the Batman."

"Batman's not the one you should be worried about, Gramps." Gav said, pressing forward. "Azrael's the one who's been messing with your deals and your rituals." He gave a feral grin. "The angel of death's coming for you."

Antonin barely dodged the strike at his face. "You continue to surprise me, boy." He spat. "I hate surprise." There was a small, strangely muffled crack of gunshot. "Surprise."

 

Gav took a step back, the burning pain in his leg taking a moment to work it's way through the numbness. "Oh."

"I will almost be sorry to see you dead, boy." Antonin said, levelling the gun at Gav, then there was a loud crunch and he took one more step forward before falling over onto his face.

Gav looked up to see the Question standing there, wielding a chunk of wood. "Hey there."

"What took you so long?" Gav said with a weak laugh.

"You wouldn't believe the traffic this time of night." Julio was glad yet again the mask hid his face so completely. The look of relief he knew he wore would've been embarrassing. "Oh, Jesus, he shot you. Not. Bulletproof."

"It's only a flesh wound." Gav said, with complete seriousness, before crushing Julio to him with a kiss."

It lasted only a second before Gav recoiled, spitting. "Oh my god, that was horrible. It tastes like aquaman's jockstrap!"

"Anchovies and sweatsocks." Julio said sadly. "wait, how would you know what aquaman's..."

Gav shushed him. "Come on, we have to get out of..."

He was cut off by the thunder of heavy footsteps up wooden stairs and he fell into an awkward stance next to Julio until Ben rounded the corner.

"GAV!" Flamebird practically tackled his brother, shoving past Julio to wrap his arms around the redhead. "I was so... Oh.. Hey is that...?"

Julio glanced down. "Family reunion later. Time to go, boys."

He would've said more, but he became aware of the smoke billowing up from downstairs.

~~

"Flamebird?" Julio said tightly as they headed upstairs. "Care to share with the rest of the class?"

"I set a few stunmines downstairs to keep the goons tied up. One of them might have had a flamethrower."

"This is no good." Gav hissed, leaning on Julio's shoulder. "There's probably more Dascha Nochut at the top platform."

"That aside, how are we getting out if we can't go down?"

"We can zipline it down." Ben said, pausing at the top of the stairs to see a group of robed and armed men. "As soon as we deal with these idiots."

"GAVEEDRA, bloodstained lamb." Antonin roared from the doorway.

"son of a bitch." Julio muttered. "Your family is really sturdy."

The tower shook again. "stone building, wooden supports." Gav said. "We have to go." He shoved Julio at Ben as the older man flung himself at them.

"GAV!" Julio shouted as they were swamped by Dascha Nochut. There was a flurry of red robes around them as he and Ben fought them off, the floor trembling beneath them.

He caught a glimpse of Gav in a momentary break. He was struggling with Antonin, the old man pushing him back towards the edge of the roof. "No No no.. I will not let this happen!"

The smell of smoke was growing stronger and the wooden floor beneath them was heating up. "Oh fuck." Ben hissed, kicking back a cultist and shooting a zipline towards the ledge. "Hang on, Question!" He grabbed Julio and there was a sharp jerk as the floor gave way beneath them.

Julio flailed for a moment, Ben's cloak flaring around them in the superheated air. Across the way, he watched in horror as the floor gave way around Gav and his grandfather.

The redhead scrabbled at the stone ledge, hanging on as the old man clawed at him. "Family reunion is over, Grandfather." He growled, that same sound that had shivered through Julio earlier, and kicked him away.

Antonin Vashtek didn't even scream as he vanished into the smoke below.

"We are so fucked." Ben grunted.

"Maybe not." Julio jerked his head upwards towards the black helicopter lowering towards them with surprising silence. "Oracle sent us some backup."


	11. Chapter 11

11

The Robinson Tower was a smouldering wreck after the fire crews got done with it and there was a startling lack of bodies, Batman noted after the searing lecture he laid on them.

But, Julio noted, as Flamebird fussed over Gav's leg, he didn't tell them to get out of his City.

This was an improvement. Even if the tiny, angry Robin beside him kept muttering about how pathetic they were as they left.

"So, how's that lone wolf thing working out for you, Azrael?" Julio asked, wiping the soot off his coat. It left olive-grey streaks were it smeared.

"It's been better." Gav coughed, leaning back against Julio's chest.

"Maybe we should take a vacation before we start fighting crime again." Julio picked at the mask. It felt suffocating now, even though he knew he was breathing just fine through it. He wanted to rip it off and give Gav a proper kiss, one that didn't taste like sweaty fish.

"I know a place in Martha's Vineyard you two might like." Ben sat back on his heels, pulling his hood back with a sooty grin. "Who knows, maybe this time, Gav and I can do *everything* together".

Julio choked. Maybe the mask was still good to keep on, after all.


	12. EPILOUGE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Rukia sent me an epilogue for the story that was too adorable to not include.

Martha's Vineyard. The bedroom door swung open to reveal a clean and dressed Benjamin Kane balancing a tray laden with breakfast foods and three hot cups of coffee.

From the large bed that took up most of the room, Julio groaned at the light that filtered in from behind Ben's looming form and hit his eyes. He shifted and pressed his face down against his lover's chest. "Oh god," he moaned. "I'm breaking up with you. I can't deal with this: you're related to a morning person." Julio could feel the reverberation of a deep chuckle in Gaveedra's chest.

"Morning?" Ben scoffed from the doorway. "It's nearly one in the afternoon, you freaks of nature."

"No, it's not," Julio complained. "Impossible."

Gaveedra put a protective arm around Julio's shoulders and pulled him closer, "Fear not. I shall fend off foul Loki that brings caffeine and lies."

"And bagels," Ben added dryly. "I buttered them for you ungrateful louts."

"Wha'duhze want?" Julio's voice sounded muffed as he buried himself deeper under the heavy comforters.

In answer, Ben grinned and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Gav growled low and wrapped his limbs tight around Julio's slight form.

Ben rolled his eyes, "I'm only joking! Mostly. Anyway, you want some breakfast in bed or do you want to watch me eat it in front of you while I read the Gotham Tribune aloud in a Donald Duck voice? I'm cool with it either way."

Gav hesitated. He did enjoy coffee... and he absolutely hated Ben's rendition of his favorite Disney character. "What do you want in return, Benji?"

Ben tilted his head to the side and gave his best lost-puppy look. "Can I eat with you guys?"

"Allow me a moment to discuss your proposal with my associate," Gav pulled the quilted bed-cover over his head and traded muffled whispers with the other man buried beneath them. Moments later, Gav's sharp eyes peeked out from the edge of the comforter. "Proposal accepted."

With a whoop of victory, Ben jumped atop the bed and maneuvered his way between the two squirming lovers without spilling a drop of coffee. Arranging himself cross-legged on top of the comforter with the tray balanced on his knees, he smiled at the sleepy man huddled on either side of him and said, "I love family time."


End file.
